HKS Wins Three Center for Health Design Touchstone Awards
Global design firm HKS has been honored with three Touchstone Awards from the Center for Health Design (CHD), which were presented at the 2022 Healthcare Design Conference + Expo in San Antonio this October.
HKS earned two Platinum awards and a Silver award in CHD’s Touchstone Award program, which recognizes achievement in evidence-based design. The firm’s Platinum-winning projects are ProMedica Generations of Care Tower, Toledo, and the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood (NTPLLN) at the University of California-San Diego. University of Wisconsin Eastpark Medical Center, a Madison, Wisconsin, ambulatory care facility scheduled for completion in 2024, secured the Silver award.
“HKS has been an industry leader in evidence-based design for more than a decade. It is wonderful to have three projects in one year be recognized through the prestigious CHD Touchstone Award program. It confirms that our firmwide commitment to outcome-driven design is paying off and that ultimately, we are bringing incredible value to our clients and the communities we serve,” said Jason Schroer, HKS Principal, Global Practice Director, Health.
Jeffrey Stouffer, Principal, Executive Vice President and Global Sector Director, Community at HKS, added, “This is a major milestone for our Health group at HKS. As Jason pointed out, we have invested heavily in Research and Advisory services over the past 15 years, and their application to our practice. We are gifted to have such talented teams globally who share in these awards.”
NTPLLN is the first Education project in the Touchstone Awards program’s history to merit a Platinum award.
Noting the ongoing mental health crisis on college campuses, Leonardo Gonzalez Sangri, HKS Principal, Global Practice Director, Education, said, “Evidence-based design results in environments that deliver transformative health benefits to faculty and students alike. It has never been more critical to set rigorous goals for measured improvement of health outcomes. We are humbled at being the first Education project to receive such high recognition by the CHD Touchstone Award program and grateful for the partnership with UC San Diego in such a meaningful endeavor.
In addition, two HKS designers earned Healthcare Environment Awards. The Healthcare Environment Award, which CHD presents in partnership with Healthcare Design magazine, recognizes excellence in new or renovated facility design. HKS Design Professional Parsa Aghaei won in the Student Design category for his master’s thesis, a drive-through urgent care center. HKS Design Professional Molly Knake also won a Student Design award for her graduate studio project, a university student health and wellness center. The Student Design awards were also presented at CHD’s 2022 Healthcare Design Conference + Expo.
At the HCD Design Conference + Expo, HKS’ award-winning design and research teams shared their latest findings on how evidence-based design is transforming operating rooms, leading to pandemic-resilient hospitals and striving to craft a more sustainable future. Dr. Deborah Wingler, HKS Principal and an Associate Director of Research, was recognized as a 2022 HCD Top 10 researcher.
